A computer with human-like qualities of artificial intelligence develops criminal obsessions and takes over the completely automated home of Susan Harris

A representative selection from one of India's leading fiction writers The most versatile writer in Malayalam today, M.T. Vasudevan Nair has published short stories, novels, screenplays, as well as articles on the state of literature and cinema in India. At the heart of this collection is The Demon Seed, a fresh translation of Asuravithu, arguably one of his best novels. Published in Malayalam in 1962, it is an uncompromising look at the crumbling matrilineal order, and the breakdown of the joint family system. The novel tells the story of Govindankutty, a young unemployed Nair boy. When his wealthy brother-in-law takes him on as the manager of his property, and a marriage is arranged for him, Govindankutty dares to dream for the first time in his life. He brings his bride home, eager to start life afresh, but discovers to his horror that she is already pregnant by another man-his urbane lawyer-cousin Krishnettan. Shattered by the knowledge that his family had connived to betray him, Govindankutty goes berserk. Finally, estranged from home and village, he converts to Islam in the ultimate gesture of defiance. Tautly written and brilliantly characterized, The Demon Seed is a powerful novel about a society in transition. The collection also brings together six of MT's best stories, including 'Vanaprastham', The Jackal's Wedding' and 'Sherlock'. Also included are 'The Era of Ramanan', an essay on the impact of the first modem verse romance in Malayalam, and a beautifully crafted piece on contemporary cinema. Taken together, these writings are testimony to the remarkable range and depth of M.T. Vasudevan Nair's work.

Getting there is supposed to be half the fun, but #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz shows readers just how bad a cross-country trip can get... The van was in back of them again. Closer this time. There could be no mistake—they were being followed. But why? The question kept nagging at Alex and Colin as they left Philadelphia behind and sped toward their new home in San Francisco. Courtney would be waiting for them, ready to begin a wonderful new life with her husband, her brother... Now, someone else is driving cross-country to see Courtney, too. Someone whose brain is rotting inside. Someone who knows their route, their stops, even their destination. And he won't rest until he finds them.

Evil comes in frightening and familiar forms in this terrifying novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz. Once there was a girl who ran away and joined a traveling carnival. She married a man she grew to hate—and gave birth to a child she could never love. A child so monstrous that she killed it with her own hands... Twenty-five years later, Ellen Harper has a new life, a new husband, and two normal children—Joey loves monster movies and Amy is about to graduate from high school. But their mother drowns her secret guilt in alcohol and prayer. The time has come for Amy and Joey to pay for her sins, because the carnival is coming back to town...

With nothing but the clothes on his back--and something horrific snapping at his heels--Jack Winter fled his rural Georgia home when he was still just a boy. Watching the world he knew vanish in a trucker's rearview mirror, he thought he was leaving an unspeakable nightmare behind forever. But years later, the bright new future he's built suddenly turns pitch black, as something fiendishly familiar looms dead ahead. When Jack, his wife Aimee, and their two small children survive a violent car crash, it seems like a miracle. But Jack knows what he saw on the road that night, and it wasn't divine intervention. The profound evil from his past won't let them die...at least not quickly. It's back, and it's hungry; ready to make Jack pay for running, to work its malignant magic on his angelic youngest daughter, and to whisper a chilling promise: I've always been here, and I'll never leave. Country comfort is no match for spine-tingling Southern gothic suspense in Ania Ahlborn's tale of an ordinary man with a demon on his back. Seed plants its page-turning terror deep in your soul, and lets it grow wild.

Science fiction, fantasy, comics, romance, genre movies, games all drain into the Cultural Gutter, a website dedicated to thoughtful articles about disreputable art-media and genres that are a little embarrassing. Irredeemable. Worthy of Note, but rolling like errant pennies back into the gutter. The Cultural Gutter is dangerous because we have a philosophy. We try to balance enthusiasm with clear-eyed, honest engagement with the material and with our readers. This book expands on our mission with 10 articles each from science fiction/fantasy editor James Schellenberg, comics editor and publisher Carol Borden, romance editor Chris Szego, screen editor Ian Driscoll and founding editor and former games editor Jim Munroe.